Connecting the dots

[Barry Arrowsmith]

Connections.
I love making connections.
Joining the dots, seeing the Taj Mahal in a case of chickenpox.
Tying this to that and that to the other.
Slotting together bits and pieces like a jig-saw puzzle to make a 
bigger picture - and besides, it keeps me out of mischief.

All speculation of course, it might be nothing more than the fevered 
ramblings  of a brain addicted to conundrums and labyrinthine 
mysteries. And if they don't exist it won't stop me inventing 'em - and 
HP is  a happy hunting ground for those of that ilk. Particularly the 
back-story. Oh, my word yes. Facts get a mention, then - nothing. Are 
they filler intended to give a bit of colour to background or 
character, or are they important? Are there actual connections to be 
made? Do they in fact exist outside the jangle of gin-induced 
mis-firing neurones?

Nothing in  this post is revelatory, all the individual parts have been 
pondered over at some time or another. Dig into files and you'll find 
that that happy band of posters, the compulsive theorists have trod 
this path before. You might even find my own grubby fingerprints on 
some of the posts. So why bother going over it again?

Well, there's this gap in the history and there are a few isolated 
facts looking for a home,  a few threads that lead nowhere -  and it 
rankles. It's unfinished business. They look as if they *should* be 
connected. To a theorist there's no greater challenge; it's a throwing 
down of the gauntlet, a call to arms. But are we Lochinvar or Don 
Quixote?
Good question....

Talisman has evinced a passion for Beowulf, it's a touch tangential 
perhaps, but since we have to start somewhere, why not use that as a 
jumping off point?

I reckon a fair translation of Grindelwald would be Grendel's Wood. Is 
that significant? Maybe not, though the legend that Grendel was 
half-human might be. Whether this also applies to Grindelwald is 
supposition, though it is a tempting prospect,, 'cos by my reckoning 
Voldy is half-human too - or he used to be.

There's this assumption that old G. was German, what with the name and 
the date of his defeat, but this ain't necessarily so. Is Voldemort 
French? Nope; well the name is, sort of, but Tom is a shining example 
of a Brit git with a massive chip on his shoulder and the French 
connection is merely a by-product of a fancy anagram. (Interestingly 
enough, you can get 'Riddle' out of Grindelwald,  but since it'd leave 
us with a first name of Gnaw or Wang, or maybe Wag. N. Riddle, it's 
unlikely to be a fruitful line of inquiry. Pity.)

No:  what does interest me is that DD  defeated Grindy and held down 
his teaching job at the same time. (And it was a real teaching job - 
Transfiguration - not the bum-polishing sinecure of Headmaster that he 
has now. Apart from feasts he hardly shifts out of his office.) Anyway, 
the point is, how likely is it that DD felled this terrible wizard on a 
weekend excursion to Oktoberfest or whatever? Or as a  break from a 
holiday dalliance with a Rhine-maiden or two? Most unlikely, I'd say. 
Worth considering that Grindy might be more of a local lad - or have 
local connections, anyway.

Anyway, ole Grindy bites the dust, though the manner and extent of his 
defeat is a total unknown. Was it louring clouds, mountain-tops riven 
by awesome spells or did DD smother him in platitudes? Was he destroyed 
or merely disarmed, contained, put back in his box where he can do no 
more harm? Somewhere like the Chamber.....

See, we've been sold a pup on this Chamber thingy. There's old Binns, 
droning on that it's all arrant nonsense and then old DD let's slip 
that the Chamber has been opened *again*. The Binns version was 
essentially the one that Tom was told - was it as inaccurate then as 
when it was repeated to Harry, Hermione et al? Yep. It's that 'don't go 
down the cellar, there's something evil lurking and it wants out' 
speculation again. And it does get out to stretch it's non-existent 
legs every so often, I'm sure.

Not only don't we know how he was defeated, we're also in the dark as 
to how long Grindy had been making a nuisance of himself. Years? If so, 
how many? 'Cos not only is it fun making connections in HP, it's also 
entertaining to draw parallels, especially when the broad outlines have 
already been sketched in by herself. Tom and Harry. (Will there ever be 
a Dick? Hmm. "Every Tom, Dick or Harry" - a synonym for anyone. A tale 
or succession of tales where the main protagonist is Everyman in 
different guises and making different(?) choices when presented with 
the same set of circumstances. Might be a thesis there if you get 
bored.)

But I  digress.
Tom and Harry.
Parallels. How far do you want  to go?
Both sets of parents have one from an old wizarding family, one not.
Harry for sure, Tom perhaps, is born when an evil wizard is rising and 
certainly one is looming large while both are at Hogwarts.
Mothers die. Orphanage/fostering in the Muggle world ensues -  until 
Hogwarts.
Both are outsiders.
Both have greatness dangled under their noses.
Both get wands with Fawkes's feathers as cores.
(Now this *must* be a killer fact. I refuse to believe it's chance. 
It's as much an accident as Mugabe winning elections IMO.)
According to canon both recognise  something of themselves in the 
other. (If you can't see that as a nudge to sit up and take notes, then 
I despair of you, I really do.  Though I'll grudgingly admit that if 
the  two feathers were provided at the same time, a major re-think 
would be in order. But nobody believes that, do they? Nah. 'Course 
not.)

Oh, and there's one other connection - Dumbledore. He's the one leading 
the fight against both would-be EOotU, he's the one that owns the 
phoenix that provides the feathers. He's also  the one who gazes 
penetratingly into Tom's eyes and asks if there's anything Tom wants to 
tell him. Ha! Tom doesn't need to tell him, DD *knows* - that adjective 
'penetrating' ain't there for nothing, you know - just as he knows when 
he pulls the same trick on Harry. So why didn't he do something, you 
may ask. Good question. He does tinker at the edges, things like 
getting Hagrid out of the slammer and into a job, but he doesn't seem 
to be in the business of nipping things in the bud.

Perhaps he can't, or not with any permanence. Perhaps he can defeat 
Evil Masterminds (yes Grindelwald, apparently yes Voldemort), but he 
lacks that certain something that will ensure their total destruction. 
That is a role for someone else. In the current manifestation of evil 
that someone is Harry. And Tom? Bearing in mind all the parallels, what 
was his role? His *original* role?
A goody who fell from grace? A flawed saviour who succumbed to  
temptation and made the wrong choice?

Or was he bait?
A tempting little morsel for evil to snuggle up to, to bring it out of 
it's protective hidey-hole so that it could be destroyed? He could open 
the Chamber (mind you, so could Harry) which  would enable him to play 
with whatever goodies Sally had left behind. But that doesn't 
necessarily mean that whatever was in there couldn't leave if it wished 
- the Basilisk was parading around the pipework just a few days into 
the term. Had Ginny been  possessed that soon? Not according to Tom, he 
was patient, took it slowly as Ginny poured her inner-most secrets into 
the diary - and if the Basilisk can get out of the Chamber other things 
might have been able to do so too when it suited their purpose. "Hello, 
can I  be your friend? We can call ourselves Grindelwald. Isn't  that a 
nice name!"  Which brings us round full circle in our speculative 
theorising.

So what have we got?
Grindelwald
Voldemort
Salazar
The Chamber
Dumbledore
And a load of parallels between Tom and Harry.

Right. Now join 'em up.
My, oh my. Someone could write a book about this lot.
Will it be number 6 or number 7?

Kneasy